Ontario city pauses speed cameras after 32K tickets handed out in 3 weeks
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After more than 32,000 speeding tickets were handed out in just three weeks by new automated speed enforcement cameras in community safety zones, council in the City of Vaughan decided to pause the program.
Mayor Steven Del Duca put forward the motion last week to pause the tickets until September, when council is due to receive a report from staff on ways the city can create more effective signage about the presence of cameras.
Design the roads so that they are unpleasant to use above the speed you are trying to achieve. This method has had great success in the Netherlands.
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IDK where you live, but where I am you get demerits and after a certain number you get a suspension and need to take a course to get your license back. But cameras don’t count to demerits, so if you have enough money, speed away. Taking that money for cameras and putting cops on the ground handing out demeritable tickets would accomplish something; cameras do not.
I’d love to see enforcement that leads to demerit points. But you need a revenue stream to pay for officers on the ground, and nobody wants to pay more in taxes to compensate.
Either we use the revenue to fund traffic cops, or we set fines high enough (but proportional to income or net worth) in order for it to be self-sufficient.
We’re far too lenient on drivers that can’t drive safely.
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If we just assume the government is always watching everything we do, there will be no crime! Let’s install cameras everywhere, including in your home, and we can get to 0% crime! What could go wrong?
Driving is a
rightprivilage, not aprivilegeright.Speed enforcement cameras (and red light cameras) are doing something that we don’t have the money to do via traffic officers.
Roads should be watched and laws enforced. Because people killing people with their vehicle shouldn’t be something we view as normal or acceptable, IMO.
Edit: fixed glaring mistake.
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Pedestrain safety becomes a concern at higher speeds. Collisons become more intense and more deadly as speed increases. The drivers are the problem, not the speed limit.
If the cars aren’t able to reach the limit due to traffic, how did the cameras hand out so many speeding tickets?
At 30kph, a pedestrian hit by a car survives 90% of the time.
At 50kph, it’s 50/50 if a pedestrian dies.
At 70kph, it’s 90/10 dead body.
As someone in that lucky 10%, I’m all for more enforcement of speed limits.
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The idea of speed cameras is to get drivers to slow down.
It’s one strategy that works for some people. Speed bumps work for others. Narrow streets work for others. And so on.
It’s also one of the least expensive ways to deter speeding, recoup the costs of infrastructure, and enforce the law.
To have 30k tickets after their install shows that they’re not doing the job of getting people to slow down.
They just installed them! It’s not like the same people are getting 100 tickets. At least, I hope not. If they are, mandatory retest should be required to drive again.
I think the takeaway is that speed cameras won’t deter speeding because it’s endemic and engrained in the traffic flow. Perhaps the thoughtful pause will determine that traffic calming measures like medians and speed bumps are required. Maybe they’ll install spike strips and speed sensing missiles. Probably a good idea to go to Council meetings to find out.
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I think the takeaway is that speed cameras won’t deter speeding because it’s endemic and engrained in the traffic flow. Perhaps the thoughtful pause will determine that traffic calming measures like medians and speed bumps are required. Maybe they’ll install spike strips and speed sensing missiles. Probably a good idea to go to Council meetings to find out.
I think the takeaway is that speed cameras won’t deter speeding
That’s not true.
Numerous cities report lower overall speeds, and a reduction in traffic collisions when automated cameras are deployed.
For example, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/annoying-thing-speed-cameras-ottawa-they-work-1.6786951 and https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/speed-cameras-proved-effective-at-latest-locations-10758040.
When my city installed the first speed camera, it clocked over 100,000 speeders in 40 days. Unfortunately, we gave drivers a grace period, so no fines were issued at the beginning.
But in those areas, speeding was reduced.
I’d rather have roads designed to be slow and require attention to navigate, but good luck getting anyone to listen to that. Trying to get any speed reduction strategies to be implemented is very difficult because of NIMBYs.
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The goal is to reduce speeding drivers, not to collect revenue.
Then there’s cities like Winnipeg where successive city halls have decided that speeding tickets are the bestest cash cow ever!
That cash should go directly into the city to redesign these problems roadways created for cars into streets designed for people.
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It should be 1 warning then you get tickets. Right now speeders can keep getting as many warnings as they want and wait to hear on the news when the fines will be implemented.
Most people I know get several 11-15km over tickets all at once a month after the infraction. They’ve already noticed or been told about the machine by the time they get the first ticket, and adjusted their driving.
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When 80 zones go down to 70 and 60 zones fuck that shit. New houses got built, the limit was 80 if people don’t like living near an 80kmh road, don’t buy that house… It was bad enough being forced to do 60-70 because people took ages to get up to the limit when it was 80. Now we’re doing 50-60 because the same people struggle to get up to speed once again.
How about everywhere that isn’t a side street just becomes an 80 zone and we start aggressively ticketing distracted drivers, distracted pedestrians, and people who can’t handle things like driving in the correct lane, and people who can’t properly use a turn indicator? You know, the actual problems…
Ticketing distracted pedestrians? What kinda garbage city do you wanna live in lmao
Out of curiosity, what do you view as a well designed city that would be a good example of what you want to see more of
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I think the takeaway is that speed cameras won’t deter speeding
That’s not true.
Numerous cities report lower overall speeds, and a reduction in traffic collisions when automated cameras are deployed.
For example, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/annoying-thing-speed-cameras-ottawa-they-work-1.6786951 and https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/speed-cameras-proved-effective-at-latest-locations-10758040.
When my city installed the first speed camera, it clocked over 100,000 speeders in 40 days. Unfortunately, we gave drivers a grace period, so no fines were issued at the beginning.
But in those areas, speeding was reduced.
I’d rather have roads designed to be slow and require attention to navigate, but good luck getting anyone to listen to that. Trying to get any speed reduction strategies to be implemented is very difficult because of NIMBYs.
I guess I misspoke. I meant to say that they aren’t detering speeding yet.
In my rural area they are putting 50km signs in the middle of the road on the yellow lines. Makes you feel like you’re threading a needle.
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Ticketing distracted pedestrians? What kinda garbage city do you wanna live in lmao
Out of curiosity, what do you view as a well designed city that would be a good example of what you want to see more of
I walk as much as I drive. The people I see crossing the street while staring at their phone and/or wearing headphones is wild. As are the Leo who stand as close to the edge of the sidewalk as possible waiting for the light of to change, but you can’t do much there.
You also get people crossing when the hand is up, which should also be a ticketable offense.
Not a garbage city, a city with equal responsibility and accountability.
If we’re going to push for lower speed limits then I want to see adequate crosswalks, and vehicles and pedestrians being equally fined for infractions.
Neither activity is difficult business, yet we have a staggering amount of people driving who shouldn’t be, and pedestrians who are gonna end up in the hospital due to their own stupidity.
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Pedestrain safety becomes a concern at higher speeds. Collisons become more intense and more deadly as speed increases. The drivers are the problem, not the speed limit.
If the cars aren’t able to reach the limit due to traffic, how did the cameras hand out so many speeding tickets?
I walk and drive frequently. Pedestrian safety is important, but we shouldn’t be coddling morons who can’t be safe pedestrians. What the fuck happened to looking both ways and nkt wearing headphones etc? Pedestrian safety has gone to the wayside and instead we’re going after drivers?
When did these cameras catch the drivers? Was it during rush hour or was it at 3am when there was little traffic on the road in the first place? How much over the limit were these people doing? There’s an awful lot of important data missing here.
And yes, the drivers are absolutely the problem yet we keep lowering the limits instead of pulling the shit drivers with 0 reflex and the reaction time of a potato off the road.
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At 30kph, a pedestrian hit by a car survives 90% of the time.
At 50kph, it’s 50/50 if a pedestrian dies.
At 70kph, it’s 90/10 dead body.
As someone in that lucky 10%, I’m all for more enforcement of speed limits.
Great, so set the limits to 70kmh so pedestrians stop being so careless, or lower the limits and put more pedestrian crossings in place.
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Not sure what exactly they’re expecting to have happen.
Great opportunity to go inform yourself then
Inform myself of what? The 10 year old crossing the empty street at 3am on a school night? Sure…
If other cars would just fucking do the limit and not take years to get there, there would be far less speeding. I know I’m mostly doing it to make up for lost time from all the dumb fucks I’m stuck behind/beside because they can’t keep the fuck up with traffic
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After more than 32,000 speeding tickets were handed out in just three weeks by new automated speed enforcement cameras in community safety zones, council in the City of Vaughan decided to pause the program.
Mayor Steven Del Duca put forward the motion last week to pause the tickets until September, when council is due to receive a report from staff on ways the city can create more effective signage about the presence of cameras.
Sounds like they were working as intended. In France they have speed cameras on the highway that average your speed over a distance and mail speeders tickets too, should be everywhere. Silly to stop such a wildly successful public safety campaign, if anything it’s clear this is a real problem and the program should be expanded. Why is signage needed? Follow the rules and don’t get a ticket is already a very well publicized concept, don’t speed and the cameras aren’t a problem
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Inform myself of what? The 10 year old crossing the empty street at 3am on a school night? Sure…
If other cars would just fucking do the limit and not take years to get there, there would be far less speeding. I know I’m mostly doing it to make up for lost time from all the dumb fucks I’m stuck behind/beside because they can’t keep the fuck up with traffic
Aaand there it is. You’re a speeder and therefore a dangerous driver and refuse to take responsibility for the fact that you are making roadways more dangerous for yourself and everyone around you. You don’t see yourself as a bad person, so the fact that people like you could get punished for behaving in a way you think is fine and redeemabke makes you angry. You’re impatient and want to save a few minutes of “lost time” from traffic and believe the solution is to speed rather than leaving a few minutes earlier, advocating for traffic calming measures, fewer cards on the road, more effective roadways, effective public transportation etc. all of which would make it safer and easier for everyone, including yourself, to make it where they need to go on time.
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Inform myself of what? The 10 year old crossing the empty street at 3am on a school night? Sure…
If other cars would just fucking do the limit and not take years to get there, there would be far less speeding. I know I’m mostly doing it to make up for lost time from all the dumb fucks I’m stuck behind/beside because they can’t keep the fuck up with traffic
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At 30kph, a pedestrian hit by a car survives 90% of the time.
At 50kph, it’s 50/50 if a pedestrian dies.
At 70kph, it’s 90/10 dead body.
As someone in that lucky 10%, I’m all for more enforcement of speed limits.
Wow fuck cars all roads should be 30kph
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Aaand there it is. You’re a speeder and therefore a dangerous driver and refuse to take responsibility for the fact that you are making roadways more dangerous for yourself and everyone around you. You don’t see yourself as a bad person, so the fact that people like you could get punished for behaving in a way you think is fine and redeemabke makes you angry. You’re impatient and want to save a few minutes of “lost time” from traffic and believe the solution is to speed rather than leaving a few minutes earlier, advocating for traffic calming measures, fewer cards on the road, more effective roadways, effective public transportation etc. all of which would make it safer and easier for everyone, including yourself, to make it where they need to go on time.
Road ways are designed with something like a safety factor where a 50kph road way Is safe up to 80kph. It’s just reduced for those stunned types of us.
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Design the roads so that they are unpleasant to use above the speed you are trying to achieve. This method has had great success in the Netherlands.
But then we can’t just cut and paste the same lane design regardless if it is a school zone or a freeway.
